Past and Future v2
by Kachie
Summary: Two odd nights, two odd wishes, and two Akanes are switched.
1. Prologue

_**Update: I'm not dead, and I feel like a big jerk for getting annoyed at other people not finishing their stories when I haven't finished this one. So, not really and update (but I am working on the next chapter!) but a slight alteration. I was all set to finish this, but kind of worked myself into a plot decision that I didn't really care for. So there are a couple of changes in the work that exists so far, and I think I'm back on track now. (finally)**___

_**"What Lies Behind Us, **_

_**And What Lies Before Us **_

_**Are Tiny Matters Compared To **_

_**What Lies Within Us." **_

_**-Ralph Waldo Emerson **_

_**\\The Present\\**_

_Days like today really make me wonder why I even try. . . _Akane Tendo turned restlessly in her bed, the sheets and coverlet entwining themselves together, her pillow already halfway too the floor. Glancing over at the small clock on her desk for what had to be the hundredth time, Akane gave a deep and frustrated sigh. _Great, just great. . . At this rate I_'_ll only get about four hours of sleep. . And that's only if I fall asleep at this very second. _She tried lying very still, slowed her breathing. But the moonlight was just a tad too bright, the sound of the ticking clock too clear, and the small creeks and groans of the house itself wormed their way into her ear, poking at her brain.

"This is impossible." Akane grumbled softly as she turned onto her back. She reached an arm behind her and blindly settled her pillow back into it's original opinion. She studied the tiny cracks on the ceiling, helpless to the memories that continued to assault her mind.

\Earlier that day\

Akane studied the tiny cracks on the sidewalk, banging her schoolbag lightly up and down off her knees as she waited.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Yuka's voice held a slight twinge of pity. She and the others had invited Akane to join them in their excursion to the movie theatre for the current tear-jerker of the month. Granted, they knew full well what to expect when the film would end. They would gush to each other about how so-and-so was soooo romantic, and how nice it would be to have their own prince charming come and sweep them away to some marvelous castle. And Akane? Well, Akane had one of two reactions. Either she'd plod along rather quietly behind them looking rather depressed, or she wouldn't be letting her friends get a word in edgewise as she would rant and rave about how she didn't need _any _boy coming to her rescue, much less another prince. As annoying as Yuka found these reactions, she was disturbed much more by the fact that Akane had not bothered to even attend these girly trips anymore. Not since the failed wedding.

Akane plastered what she hoped was a serene smile on her face, "Yes, I'm sure Yuka. I have," her eyes tilted towards her hands, still swinging the schoolbag, "homework to do, still have lots to catch up on since Ch-. . Since, well, you know."

"Ok, Akane. But please," Yuka pressed a friendly hand to her shoulder, "let us know if you want to hang out." Her green eyes softened in concern, "We miss you, ya know? I mean, is everything ok? You can tell us," her voice dropped even lower, "I mean, you used to tell us everything."

Akane swallowed harshly, rather surprised at the choked up feeling in her chest. The schoolbag stopped bouncing. Blinking a few times, she forced herself to meet Yuka's gaze. What she saw reflected there was friendship. Her heart twisted painfully as she realized simply just how much she missed these friends. "Yuka, I-"

"Come on, Ranma honey! You don't need to go home just yet. . Why don't you come to my place. . "

Alane's head jerked back down as suddenly as it had come on. "Never mind, Yuka. Why don't you guys go on and have fun ok? I'll definitely be there next time." She barely noticed Yuka's farewell, her hearing helplessly zeroing in on the conversation between the okinomiyaki chef and her supposed fiance. Ukyo had a death grip on Ranma's hand as she dragged him in the direction of her shop.

"Come on, you big silly. There's a big okinomiyaki waiting for you!"

"Yeah, I'm comin' already-" That was when he noticed her. His feet came to a sudden halt, causing Ukyo to come to a clumsy stop. "'kane." His blue eyes met hers, filled with trepidation. "I-" He glanced down at the hand gripped by Ukyo's. Looking back at Akane, her eyes were no longer on him, but on the clasped hands. He quickly yanked his hand out of there, guilt slightly marring his handsome features. "You, um, you wanna come?" He put out a hand which, unnoticed due to Akane's ignorance, held a barely perceptible shake.

"And risk having bombs thrown at me again?" The achieved steel in her voice gave her the strength she needed to look him in the face again. "She may be your friend, Ranma, but she certainly isn't mine." The chef had the decency to look slightly ashamed. Without another word, she turned away and started the long walk home. Alone.

\\

Contrary to popular belief, things had not been going well for the engaged couple since that fateful trip to China. Sure, there were plenty of moments where they would fall into their old pattern of insulting back and forth, but sooner or later someone would come around or one of them would say precisely the wrong thing and then it was as if a wall had suddenly slammed down between the two. Akane, for her part, was a mix of frustration and hurt. Her wedding had been ruined. Wanted or not, it was truly heart wrenching to look at the mirror and see your once beautiful wedding dress torn and burned beyond repair.

_And to top it off, he still goes off with Ukyo to fill up that never ending garbage disposal he calls a stomach. _With a growl, Akane tossed her pillow to the floor. "How could he forgive her?" she whispered to herself, tears coming to her eyes.

For the few days that followed the wedding, she had found herself filled with hope. Ranma seemed to have changed. The insults came out softer, he now ran next to her on the way to school rather than on top of the fence. He was even bitingly cold to Ukyo and Shampoo. Akane had been convinced that they were well on their way to at least some type of resolution. And then one night it all went right back down the drain.

They had been sitting on the porch, watching the stars and enjoying glasses of strawberry flavored shaved ice. The nights were still incredibly hot and humid even as summer drew to a close. There was light conversation, gentle laughter, and Akane had felt a comfortable warm glow infuse within her. One silly joke and one choked on ice chip, and suddenly she was in his arms, close enough to see herself reflected in those deep blue orbs. Their position was eerily similar to the one they had held on Phoenix Mountain. No words were spoken as their heads and more importantly their mouths, began to inch closer and closer together. He had been so close and then without warning, his eyes widened and a split second later he was out of sight and she had been left alone in the night that seemed to drop starkly in temperature as soon as his arms had disappeared.

Since that night, the old patterns had emerged but things had definitely changed. The fights would start our similar enough but eventually their voices would start to tinge with something other than the usual spite. Hers with hurt, his with. . Well, with what Akane didn't know. _The jerk. . . _When everyone else was around, he almost seemed to be himself, well, the Ranma he was before China. But he absolutely refused to go anywhere alone with her. He always managed to cook up some excuse about needing to train, or running some errands. His eyes would flit nervously from side to side, he'd spit out some lame excuse, and two seconds later she would be standing in an empty room. _He even had the gall to say that he had homework to do! Homework! _She snorted. _Right._ The few moments that she had managed to get him alone and those precious few moments before the inevitable fight would start, she could swear she could see something in his eyes, the something she secretly hoped and dreamed about. . . And every time he closed himself off to her and instead reached into his ready arsenal of insults to bombard her with until she either smacked him good or ran off in tears But the truly odd thing was what would happen later. He would always apologize. Not to her face of course, but somehow, she would know that he was sorry. Whether it was simply the silent acceptance of whatever punishment their fathers dealt out or by some small unseen gesture. On the days when the fights would get really bad, on the days she would run off and cry herself to sleep, she would wake to find a small flower or one of her favorite snacks resting next to her head on her pillow, and the covers she had originally dropped herself on top of would unexpectedly be tucked in snuggly around her. It was the unseen things that kept her hanging on, the kept her from just giving up completely.

Akane rolled to her side and slowly reached down for her pillow. _I just don_'_t understand him. I mean, he always saves me, whether I want him to or not. . And at Jusedo. . I was so sure that I heard him say he loved me. . . But now, now I don't know what to think. If he doesn't love me, then why is he still around? If I just knew how he felt, then maybe I could figure out what I'm supposed to do. Should I break the engagement? _Her hand clenched the pillow hard as she brought it back up to the bed. _But. . ._ _I. . . _Tears clouded her vision. _I don_'_t. . . I don't want to break it. _The pillow was now clutched to her chest. _I just, I just wish I knew how this all turned out. I wish I knew what_'_s going to happen to us. . ._

**\\The Future\\**

The clock on the small night table clicked softly as Akane lazily opened her eyes. _Guess that quick afternoon nap wasn_'_t the best idea in the world. _She sat up slowly, stretching her arms high above. The moonlight glinted gently through the curtains enticing Akane to desert the warm covers and pad softly over to the window. She pulled one curtain aside, rubbing her cheek against the cotton fabric. The moon itself had cast it's glow upon the koi pond and the occasional ripple fluttered across it's surface, changing the glow to a million little sparkles. She sighed, her smile still infused with sleep. _So peaceful._ _. Maybe three a.m. wake ups aren_'_t so bad after all. It's not so often that it's quiet around- _Her thought was cut off by the soft snore coming from the bed. _Hah, so much for peaceful._ She smirked and made her way back to her side of the bed.

Lying down, Akane shifted sideways to her hip, resting her chin in one hand as she studied her bed partner. When she had awoken, he had rolled from his usual position, curled around her, and onto his back. One hand rested behind his head while the other scratched absentmindedly at his stomach. The blankets barely covered him. He tended to either knock them completely off the bed or toss most of them over to her side. As for the rest of him, well, he didn't really lay in bed, more like he sprawled in bed. It seemed that without having her to anchor himself to when in the waves of sleep, he was unable to rest in any position over than something that looked completely and utterly ridiculous.

Akane smiled as she reached down to brush a lock of dark hair out of his eyes. "I love you," she whispered as she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. He smiled faintly in response and her name sprang from his mouth in a sigh. She giggled quietly and scooted further under the covers to settle back into sleep. As soon as her back sunk into the mattress, her husband turned to his side, threw an arm over her and pulled her back into his embrace. Even after twelve years, the tingles still appeared low in her stomach every time he showed her such affection. Her eyes had a glow bright enough to rival the moon. _I don_'_t think it_'_s possible to be happier. _Akane rolled her eyes slightly. _Yeah, it_'_s cheesy, but after all we went through to get here? I think I_'_m allowed a little cheese. _A deep yawn interrupted her thoughts and her eyes began to take a drowsy cast once more. _I just wish I had known how you felt about me a little earlier. maybe I would have gone about things a little differently. . . I wish I could have known how much you loved me just a little. . . bit. . . sooner. . ._

_\\Two odd nights. . . Two odd wishes. . . And two Akanes are switched.\\_

Author's note: So here it is, revised chapter one. I'm much more pleased with how this is going so far. You might have noticed that I added a couple more scenes (sheesh, 195 words turned into 2200) and hopefully kind of changed the tone of this fic slightly. When I had begun Past and Future I had yet to read the manga in it's entirety. I knew the general plot, but hadn't really thought of using the happenings in the later half of the manga to effect my story. For example, the Ranma in the revised version will be a tad more serious. . . I think. Eh, ok, to be honest, I'm not totally sure. The only thing I do know is that the events of Phoenix Mountain will be present in this story and how that will continue to change it? Who knows J The general plot line of this story will stay the same, but I'm planning to delve a little more into the side stories (I.e. Shampoo and Nabiki/Kuno) as well as some back story when the point of view stems from the future. Also: with compliments to Rui, I believe, I have changed Akane to 'kane when spoken by Ranma. It's how he always said it in my head, but I guess I didn't think anyone else would get the significance of that. Since I've seen otherwise, I decided to make the change. Anyways, as usual C&C is always welcome and appreciated!


	2. Chapter 1

"Don't go through life,

Grow through life."

-Eric Butterworth

Ranma had started to watch her sleep the night after the failed wedding. He always made sure to come in about an hour before sunrise. Any earlier and he feared her sleep would not be deep enough to not notice the small creaks that even he was helpless to make as he entered her room through the window. He would pull her desk chair next the bed, straddle it and rest his chin on its back. And then he would watch.

At this point in her slumber, she never did much. All her nighttime aggression seemed to occur within the first couple of hours. Then whatever enemy she happened to be facing would be defeated or perhaps just disappear leaving her with what he hoped was a peaceful dream. That was what usually happened. On some rare occasions a few undecipherable words would spring from her mouth. On even rarer occasions, he would be able to make them out. The night he heard his own name leave her lips on a sigh, he felt for sure that his heart had stopped.

He tilted the chair up onto it's back legs, leaning closer to her face. He sighed deeply and regretfully when he noticed the dried tracks of tears that glistened on her cheeks. "I'm sorry 'kane," he dared to whisper. The chair dropped back on its four legs without a sound. Ranma unsuccessfully tried to swallow the ever growing lump of guilt present in his throat. _But you gotta understand. . . I don't want you getting hurt anymore. _He tore his eyes away from her, fixing a glare on the small plush bunny stationed on a corner of her desk. _If I told you how much I- god, if anyone found out, they'd go after you for sure. _He sighed and reached over to the bunny. Now in his hands, it was squeezed, it's comical eyes stretching out. _Hell, they could sorta see how I felt in China, and what happened? Their attacks got worse. _He tossed the bunny back in the corner. _They won't stop no matter what I say, no matter what I do. And if they actually hurt you? _He allowed himself a small smirk. _Well, then I might be forced to do some rather permanent damage. . . and. . _The smirk faded. _I really don't know if I could handle that again. Having you. . well, gone. . . I can't go through that again. And I know I can't protect you all the time. . . Hard as I try, I _know_ I can't. So the only way I can figure out how to fix this is to stay away. They can't break us apart if we ain't together right?_

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a four leaf clover he had scrounged for in a nearby park. He laid it on her pillow. _Even if you care for me more than just a little, it ain't worth you getting death threats or kidnapped every other day. I just wish I could figure out some way to protect you that didn't involve hurting you. Maybe I should just leave. . . But then I wouldn't be around you, and frankly, I don't know if I could handle that either. _He stood up and pushed the chair back into it's usual spot. _One day I'll figure this out 'kane. But until then I can't take any risks in letting the truth come out. I'm. . . I'm scared of what they might do. . . And of what I might do to them in return._

Past and Future: Chapter One

A bright glare of sunshine hit her eyelids, the heat forcing them open. &Akane squinted against the light, instead focusing on the blurry bit of green in front of her. She sat up, letting out a giant yawn as she picked up the bit of green. _A four leaf clover? _A bright smile broke out. "Ranma, where did you-" she spun around swiftly and only succeeded in banging her arm against the wall. The reason for this, she soon discovered, was that her bed was about half the size she was accustomed to. "Huh?" With a slight feeling of unease, &Akane looked down at herself. _My blue swirl pajamas? _Her fingers plucked at the material. _I haven't had these since I was. . . _Her eyes came up to survey the room, flitting quickly from the dried flowers on the floor, to the desk in front of the window, the textbooks laid out on said desk, the barbells on the floor, the school uniform hanging on her closet door, the frame Ranma gave her for Christmas sitting on her shelf. . . . _a teenager. _Her eyes slowly widened and then abruptly stopped widening in favor of rolling up towards the back of her head. _What the hell. . . _was her last thought as the world went dark.

The wedding had gone on without a hitch. They waved to their happy and smiling family and friends as they set off on their honeymoon. Travel was very speedy and they were at their destination within the next second. They were now on a long stretch of secluded beach. The sun was setting, warming their skin with it's bright orange glow. The sand was soft and plush, which was unusual for sand, but this was no bother to the blissful couple. He lifted their entwined hands and placed a small kiss on the hand that wore a ring that held a small diamond which twinkled and sparkled brightly. She smiled and looked down shyly. A single finger touched her chin, tilting her head up until her gaze met his deep blue eyes. His declaration of love echoed loudly in her ears as they were suddenly transported into their bedroom. He now lay partway on top of her, forcing her body to sink into the mattress. The journey from his mouth to hers was completed in nearly agonizing slowness.

Before contact was made was the split second where she usually woke up. Her eyes still closed, she would allow herself one naughty smile before fully waking to the harsh reality of daytime. But this time was different. This time his lips reached their destination, sensually melding with her own. His arms came around her, one sneaking behind the curve of her waste, the other reaching up to tangle in her hair. Her arms came up of their own accord, running up and down the hard planes of muscle that made up his back. His mouth slanted over hers, pushing, pleading, persuading her lips to part. She was helpless against such a demanding assault. Not one to pass on an opening, he began his new attack would an even greater urgency.

Wave after wave of pure intense pleasure passed over her. She marveled at these new and incredible feelings, feelings she could never have imagined having in her life and certainly not in any of her dreams. But her current blissful existence could not last for her mind slowly began to register certain truths. It was true that his arms were still tight around her, that his breath, hot and sweet, still engulfed her senses. She could even feel the tenseness in his muscles and the rise and fall of his chest. _Since when are my dreams this tactile?_ _Never, that's when. _Which was precisely the reason she finally decided to end her 'dream' and open her eyes. . . She soon found herself staring at a pair of closed eyes with incredibly long dark eyelashes. Her eyes shut unthinkingly once more when the unnamed stealer of her kiss switched from her mouth to her neck while his hand moved into a bit more dangerous territory.

It was at this crucial point that Akane's senses and normal thought process just about fried and her automatic response system, cultivated after years and years of being tormented by the idiot boy of the week, kicked in. In other words, her fist clenched and began it's windup. However, before it was to be let loose to wreak it's usual havoc, a loud voice cut up into the room from down the stairs.

"Ryoga! Get down here right now!" The voice was not only loud but tinged with worry. _Is that. . Ukyo? _Her fist loosened and dropped back down to the bed, thrown off by this new distraction. And before any other response could be made, by Akane herself or by her fist alone, the body that was so intimately pressed against hers disappeared. Her body forced her to take a moment to press deeper into the mattress, savoring the feelings that were brought on by the unknown male. A second later, boy-hating Akane reared her ugly head. _Open your eyes, you idiot! We need to find out who the pervert is and give him the pounding he deserves! _A small voice tried to insert the possibility of not pulverizing said pervert in favor of more friendly activities. This voice was forcefully squelched as Akane finally opened her eyes.

Her "attacker" was halfway dressed and in the process of putting on a shirt. Akane could hear faint grumbles coming from the head that was currently stuck, and unfortunately hidden, in the tangle of shirt he was attempting to wear.

"Ryoga! I said NOW!" &Ukyo's voice echoed from downstairs once more. Akane sat up, her mouth hanging open slightly. _Wait a second. . . Ryoga? _She stared at the still shirt stuck man as he suddenly ran out the door. Her eyes followed his fleeing form until she was left looking at an open doorway. _That was. . . Ryoga?? _Her breathing grew rather harsh, panic and a bit of rage settling in. Her eyes narrowed and she looked down at her fists which had the covers in a tight grasp. Akane's gaze suddenly lost their spark and confusion replaced the anger in their depths. Her head cocked to the side. _Since when is my blanket red? _Her head came up. _And come to think of it. . . Since when did my walls go yellow. . .and. . . _A quick survey revealed that the room was twice the size of what she was accustomed to. Her grip on the covers got even tighter. _Where the heck am I? _A sharp pang pierced her heart and she quickly looked down at her hands once more, more precisely at her left hand, specifically at her ring finger. The ring finger that normally went through life naked now wore a shiny silver band, a beautifully cut diamond set in it's center.

_. . . Oh. . . my. . ._

_Ok, let's see. Last night: taught class, made dinner, yelled at Ranma for making fun of it _again_, read Ranko a story, tucked in Ryoga, went to bed, said goodnight to my idiot of a husband, woke up in the middle of the night, talked to myself for a bit, went back to sleep. . . And woke up in my old room. _She shivered a little from the light breeze coming steadily through the broken window. Unremembered by &Akane, the glass had been thoughtfully "removed" by one, Kodachi Kuno, the week before and the local repairman still hadn't been able to come around to fix it. &Akane looked away from the lack of glass and down, zeroing in on the date of the homework assignment resting on the desk. _And not only that, it appears to not be 2009 but 1997. _To her credit, besides the small fainting spell, &Akane stayed pretty calm as opposed to her past, well currently future counterpart. After years of experience with magic mirrors, enchanted blenders, onis sporting tiger striped underwear, Happosai himself, and countless other odd happenings, one sort of got used to strange and bizarre circumstances.

She slowly leafed through the pile of homework assignments. _Yup, '97, '97, '97. . . And what's this? The advertisement for the Dojo? _It was in it's raw form, a picture of the dojo taped under the heading Nerima Tendo Dojo Opens its Doors!Underneath the photo was a brief description of the Anything Goes style, fees and schedules for classes (those were penciled in), intermixed with words in bold claiming **Confidence**, **Learn to Defend Yourself**,** Become a True Martial Artist**, and other like statements. At the bottom of a page was a photo of the "True Martial Artist" himself: Ranma. The photographer managed to capture him in the middle of a spinning hook kick. For once, he was actually wearing the traditional martial arts gi rather than his usual uniform of dark pants and Chinese shirt. The tails of his black belt flared out from the power of the kick that reached high above his head. His face sported the particular grin that always appeared not when he was involved in a battle, not when he was showing off, but when he was able to simply immerse himself in the art that he loved.

&Akane placed the flyer back down onto the desk. _It took me so long to get up the nerve to show that to him. _After a realistic talk to Nabiki about finances, and with her senior year nearing a close, she had decided that it was really time to get the dojo going again. Other than the practice Ranma and she used it for, the dojo had lay dormant since the death of her mother. She had pushed Ranma as the main sensei not only as a draw in for customers, after all, it was no secret to the city that he was the _best_, but also in hopes that the title of teacher would finally convince him to instruct and take her seriously. &Akane thought back on her formal skills with a wry grin. _And boy did I need his help._

The sound of a high pitched squeal followed by footsteps pounding up the stairs quite easily tore &Akane from her inner thoughts. Her door sprang open and her arms were suddenly full of a scrambling black piglet wearing a yellow bandanna. She smirked as she looked down into his bright green eyes. _Well. . . It if isn't "P-chan". _The door slammed again into the wall as a veritable force of nature entered.

"I thought I told you to stay out of here, Porkbutt!" Ranma stood with his legs far apart and his arms tense. One hand was clenched in a fist while the other laid flat against the door. His eyes burned bright as he glared at the quivering porcine. &Akane was momentarily taken aback as she set her eyes on the 1997 Ranma. _He looks so young. . . _His frame was the tiniest bit smaller than what she was used to. Ranma had stayed fairly lean throughout his teen years. And he was not one to complain about it. On the contrary, he looked on it as an extra advantage when in a fight. _"Takes them a little longer ta realize I'm stronger than I look, heh!" _It wasn't until he hit his twenties, around the time Ryoga was born, that the muscles he had always possessed really became defined. The hair was the same, and the eyes, they never changed. The real big difference was the absence of the horizontal scar that she was used to seeing under his right eye. The scar had come from a large shard of glass out of the many that littered the floor after falling from the huge window of the ice cream shop. The cut had been unusually deep and even with Ranma's rapid recuperating abilities, failed to heal without leaving it's mark behind. The scar was always a sore point between them. For &Akane, it was because at the time, she had not been skilled enough to protect herself nor brave enough to truly seek out the training she needed. As for Ranma, he always managed to convince himself that any trouble she had gotten into was his fault in the first place, that if he wasn't around she wouldn't be in nearly as much danger. In fact, a deep part of her had always wondered that if Nadoka hadn't forced the issue when &Akane had finally awoken, if Ranma would have eventually took off completely with the insane notion of her life being better without him in it. Needless to say what his frame of mind did to the first two years of their marriage. _To think he had me convinced it was all for family honor and nothing else. _

"Come here, you little runt!" &Akane let Ranma tear the distraught pig out of her arms and watched silently as he tossed Ryoga outside the door and into the hallway. A sharp thud sounded his hitting the wall.

"Ranma. . " she softly breathed out. He spun around, startled at her unfamiliar quiet utterance. His posture slumped a bit as a hand reached back to fiddle with his braid uncomfortable.

"Um. . . He was, well, I needed to. . . " At her lack of response, Ranma abandoned his flimsy excuses in favor of just staring at her. Their eyes locked intensely until P-chan emitted a dazed 'bwee' from the hallway. Ranma abruptly shook himself, mentally and physically. The sunlit bedroom's temperature slowly began to drop. &Akane trembled slightly as a nearly forgotten sadness gripped her heart. _His eyes. . . so cold, I'd almost forgotten what it was like. _He pulled his gaze away from her. "Um, yeah. . I, ah. . .well, later tomboy." And after those brief muttered words, he was gone, taking the chill with him.

&Akane stood staring at the vacant doorway until a few minutes later a surprised "Oh," drifted past her lips. She glanced towards the calendar pegged to the wall. _Today is the day he. . . The day he got the scar. . . The day I. . . _Her eyes widened in sudden recognition. _The wish! The wish I made last night. . . It sent me back? _

"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."

-Cherokee proverb


	3. Chapter 2

After Ranma had left her former bedroom in such a hurry, &Akane decided she wasn't quite ready to face the rest of the family, at least without a plan of action. And so, twenty minutes later found &Akane soaking in the furo after a vigorous scrubbing. She rested her neck against the cool edge, breathing in the steam, eyes closed. Now knowing the particular date whatever fate or deity had decided to bring her back to, she couldn't help but think of one of the few other dates, besides the birthdays of her children and her wedding anniversary, that proved to change the course of her, well, their lives: the day she woke up.

_-November 8th, 1997-_

"_I'm tellin' ya, Doc, she squeezed my hand."_

_It was true, she had. The heavily calloused hand had gripped her own for weeks, or so she would be told. They would ask how exactly it had happened, blow-by-blow, who did what. . . But she would only respond with the last thing she could remember: strawberries. Apparently, she was in a fight. So ask them what happened, she would later demand. Just as soon as I recover, I'll show them, she would blast. But it wouldn't do any good. No one had seen or heard from her opponent since the day she last tasted strawberries. But right now, none of that really matters. All that matters is that she is suddenly aware of the rough palm grasping her own. It's warm, comforting, and strong. . . Strong while she feels so very, very weak._

"_As I told you before, Mr. Saotome, I cannot give you any reassurance that Ms. Tendo is in the clear. Squeezing a hand, or a response to a touch may merely be a simply reflex."_

"_I know, Doc, I know. . . It's just. . . " She didn't really register what they were saying at the time. Bits and pieces of what had gone on in that small white room would come back to her at the oddest times. She would be in the middle of washing a dish and would suddenly hear Kasumi humming an old lullaby and the feel of a hand brushing aside her bangs. Or, more importantly, when she was alone and on the verge of throwing in the towel, of just, well, leaving. . The ghost of his voice would come back to her, pleading, begging, admonishing, and sometimes even, loving. For a while these vague recollections were the only things able to convince her to stay. It often struck her how odd it was to be in love with a memory she wasn't quite sure existed, especially when faced with reality. But the day she finally woke would always give her hope that these phantom voices spoke true._

_That afternoon, not more than an hour after the hand squeezing, she managed to lift her tired eyelids enough to accomplish a mild squint. The area in view was muddled at best, mostly white with splashes of bright hues the edges. She let out a soft moan in confusion and her world filled with a whirl of red and black. The warm hand clasped her own again while it's partner reached forward to caress her cheek. She felt more than heard his soft mummer of her name. She was safe with him hovering over her. She was safe because he was here and he always kept her safe no matter what. He was and would be there for her, always. Always, she thought, holding onto the view of his blurry form until the blue of his eyes pieced through the storm of varied colors. Only then did she give into her weary state and let her lids fall down once more._

A knock on the bathroom door startled &Akane out of her reverie, "Yes?" she called out.

"Kasumi says breakfast is ready," Ranma's voice came through the door.

"Oh! I'll be down in a minute, sweetie!" &Akane grasped the edge of the tub and stretched out her legs to ease the stiffness. How long had she been in here, she thought as she slowly eased out of the water.

"Um. . . what did you call me?" Again, Ranma's voice drifted into the room, albeit a tad higher and with a boyish crack on the last syllable. &Akane's half lid eyes popped wide open as she slid back down into the furo with a splash. _Oops!-_

"Akane, you ok in there?" Ranma asked after a full minute of silence. "Akane?" No response. His breathe suddenly shortened and he could feel a slight tightness beginning to build in his chest. "'kane, if you don't answer me right now," his hand reached out to grasp the doorknob when suddenly the barrier disappeared and there she was, standing in front of him, wrapped in nothing but a soft yellow, and if you ask him, way too tiny towel. Even though he had seen her lacking in clothing enough to make the entire male student body of Furinkan High weep with envy, each time felt like the first. Ranma's mouth hung stubbornly open as his words died in his throat and he couldn't help slowly raking his gaze up and down her form until the sound of a throat clearing abruptly tore his stare back up to her face.

"You were saying?" Her voice held a touch of anger, but looking into her chocolate brown eyes, they held no malice, only. . could that be mirth?

"I. . . uh. . " To his frustration, Ranma could feel the blood rushing upwards to flush his face with heat.

"Pervert," Akane growled in response, knocking him hard in the shoulder as she strode past him towards her room. Ranma, still helplessly caught in the clasp of embarrassment, stumbled back against the wall. And as he let himself slide down to the floor, he couldn't help noticing the slight smile that now graced Akane's face as she proceeded to enter her room. _What the heck? I should be unconscious right now. _Her door shut firmly and left Ranma staring dumbly at the moist footprints staining the wooden floor in front of him.

". . . sweetie?"

_8/15/12 – Yeah, so I'm back again. Would love someone to bounce some ideas off of, PM if you're interested. =D_


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